Maplin launches tech takeaway service

Maplin launches tech takeaway service
Maplin calling

Maplin has come up with a solution for those times when you need a gadget and you need it now but not quite badly enough to actually get up and go to the shops: a 90-minute delivery service.

The tech retailer has teamed up with Shutl to offer deliveries of your online order within an hour and a half of you hitting buy on the website.

Yes, it's tech takeaway – but only for around 60 per cent of the UK at this point. 83 Maplin stores are taking part initially, with 21 more coming on board this spring.

Marlie Maplin

But this isn't like Chinese food, a tech delivery service like this seems bound to set you back a pretty penny. Each delivery is calculated separately based on the item and your location, but prices start from £5 so if it's an HDMI cable you desperately (but not that desperately) need it might not be too bad.

Maplin is the first to integrate the Shutl delivery options into the checkout process, but it isn't the first retailer to latch on to the Shutl service: you can also enjoy speedy delivery from Argos and a few clothing retailers.

As Tom Allason, founder and CEO of Shutl points out, "Technology enthusiasts hate waiting more than a few moments for a web page to load, so it seems strange that they accept waiting days for their new tech. Now that Maplin will be delivering at rocket speed, they won't have to."

Or they could just go to the shops. One of the two.

The tech takeaway service will deliver in 90 minutes between 9am and 9pm every day, so don't expect too much from those inebriated late-night shopping sessions.

News Editor (UK)

Former UK News Editor for TechRadar, it was a perpetual challenge among the TechRadar staff to send Kate (Twitter, Google+) a link to something interesting on the internet that she hasn't already seen. As TechRadar's News Editor (UK), she was constantly on the hunt for top news and intriguing stories to feed your gadget lust. Kate now enjoys life as a renowned music critic – her words can be found in the i Paper, Guardian, GQ, Metro, Evening Standard and Time Out, and she's also the author of 'Amy Winehouse', a biography of the soul star.